In order for a user to converse, alternatively, with two different parties on separate telephone lines, it is conventional to connect the telephone lines to a single telephone set through a two-position switch that is capable of placing one of the parties "on hold" while the other of the parties is operatively connected to the telephone set of the user. By suitable manipulation of the switch, the user can alternately speak to and hear each of the parties. This arrangement is disadvantageous in many situations where the user would like to hear at all times what each party is saying, but be able to limit what he is saying to only one or the other of the parties.
At the present, a "conference call" connection is available wherein all of the telephone lines are merged such that the user and each party hears what any of the others say, and all can speak simultaneously. Thus, separate, private conversations between the user and the other parties is not possible.
Finally, a user can utilize two separate telephone sets for connection to the two parties via separate telephone lines, and can simultaneously hold the two receivers to his ears thereby hearing each party. To speak to only one of the parties, the user must physically move the mouthpiece of one of the receivers away from his mouth while speaking into the other mouthpiece. This is physically inconvenient to do and often does not ensure complete privacy.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method of and apparatus for enabling a user to simultaneously hear each of two different parties on different telephone lines, and to limit speaking to only one or the other of the parties at any time in a hands-free environment.